【人际功能理论在国际商务谈判中的应用探究（英语）（论文）】

人际功能理论在国际商务谈判中的应用研究摘要国际谈判的特征决定了谈判不仅是以争夺经济利益为核心的商务活动，而且在企业对外交流活动中起重要作用。人际功能在语言中主要体现在语气系统、情态系统和评价系统。在商务英语谈判中运用人际功能包括正确使用委婉语和深思熟虑的语调、积极和肯定的情态以及正面及赞赏的评价。本研究主要将来自不同国际间的文化、人际功能中语气、语调、情态评价系统等因素对谈判的影响多角度思考整合，以及分析人际功能理论如何用于提高国际商务谈判的胜算。关键词:语气系统；情态系统；评价系统；国际商务谈判Contents1.Introduction IntroductionWiththedeepeninginfluenceofbusinessnegotiationoninternationalstatus,businessEnglishnegotiationisoneofthecoreabilitiestoinvestigatewhetherbusinessEnglishmajorsarequalifiedornot,thusithasbecomeanimportantfieldofbusinessEnglishacademicresearch,itinvolvesmanyfactorssuchaslanguage,communication,psychology,society,cross-culture,educationandsoon,butthedepthandbreadthofthisaspectarenotenoughindomesticbusinessEnglishresearchandanalysis,usetheinterpersonalfunctiontheorymethodsalsoappearstobeparticularlyimportant.Thispaperfocusesontheconnotationandpresentationofinterpersonalfunctiontheory,throughtheintroductionofinterpersonalfunctiontheory,fromtheapplicationoftonesystem(subjectandlimitedelements),modalsystem(modalityandmeaning)andevaluationsysteminbusinessnegotiations,thispaperdiscussesanumberofpossiblescenariosininternationalbusinessnegotiations,andanalyzeshowtouseinterpersonalfunctiontheorytoimprovethepossibilityofwinningininternationalbusinessnegotiations,inthispaper,anumberofbusinessnegotiationsintheuseofinterpersonalfunctiontheoryexamplestohelpanalyzehowtoimprovethesuccessofnegotiations.Theresearchmethodofthispaperistoselectthecorrespondingreferenceliteratureaccordingtothekeywords,analyzethegeneraltrendandcharacteristicsofbusinessnegotiation,andthroughtheseexamples,theconclusionisthattheapplicationofinterpersonalfunctiontheoryininternationalbusinessnegotiationisnotveryextensiveatpresent,itcanbestrengthenedinthefuture.Theoverallstructureofthispaperis:Firstly,introductiontothetheoryofinterpersonalfunctionandbusinessnegotiation,andanalysisofthecurrentdomesticandforeignresearchontheuseofinterpersonalfunctiontheoryinbusinessnegotiationsafterconsultingreferencematerials.Secondly,analyzethebasicformsofinterpersonalfunctions,whicharedividedintothreeparts:tonesystem,modalitysystemandevaluationsystem.Thenanalyzethebasiccharacteristicsofinternationalbusinessnegotiationsfromtheperspectiveofdifferentcultures.Finally,analyzehowtoapplyinterpersonalfunctiontheorytoimprovethesuccessrateofinternationalbusinessnegotiations.LiteratureReviewAfterbrowsingseveralliteratureswrittenbypredecessorsontheInternet,itisfoundthatthenumberofempiricalresearchonforeignbusinessnegotiationfarexceedsnon-empiricalresearch,andquantitativeresearchisthemainstream.Forexample,inthearticle“InterpersonalFunctionofJoeBiden'sVictorySpeech(SystemicFunctionalLinguisticsView)”,ByanalyzingtheinterpersonalfunctionallinguisticsusedinBiden'sspeech,theauthorconcludesthatthedifferentuseofemotion,modalityandpersonalpronounmaydeterminedifferentlevelsofinterpersonalfunction,thusendowthespeakerwithdifferentstatusandpurpose,aswellasinfluenceontheaudience.Thetextinthestudyusesthefunctionofinterpersonalcommunication,whichutilizesthedeclarativemood,throughwhichthespeakerplaystheroleofinformationprocessorandprovider.Halliday“interpretsthelanguagesystemasasemanticselectionnetwork,andwheneachstepofthesystemisimplementedonebyone,astructurecanbeproduced”.Thiskindofmeaningnetworkevenincludesthecontext,registerandsocialcultureoutsidethesentencetext.Throughtothedomesticscholarspublishedliteratureresearch,Chinesescholars'researchoninterpersonalfunctionaltheory(includingmoodsystemandmodalsystem)focusesonmodalsystemandanalyzesdifferentdiscoursesbyusingmodalsystemtheory.(Xuecaili,2014:56-58)SuchasYuanHuilinginherairticlementionedintheinterpersonalfunction,howtocorrectlyusethelanguagenegotiationnotonlyneedstostrengthentheoreticalknowledge,butalsoneedstopracticealot,summarizeunceasingly,improvethenegotiation.DuetotheapplicationofinterpersonalfunctiontheoryinthefieldoflinguisticsinChina,manyscholarshaveputforwardmanyimportantviewsonthecharacteristicsofvariousaspectsofChineselanguageandculture.Amongthem,ProfessorHuZhuanglinfromPekingUniversityholdsthemostrepresentativeviewpoint.（HuZhuanglin,2003:73-77）HebelievesthattheinterpersonalfunctionofLanguagereferstothecommunicationbetweencommunicatorsandotherstoexpresstheirattitudes,motivesandinferencestowardsthings,andtotrytoinfluencethebehaviorandattitudeofothers.Integratingtheinterpretationsofinterpersonalfunctionsbydomesticandforeignscholars,becauseoftheirdifferentresearchentrypoints,therearecertaindifferencesintheexpressionofwordsandevenintheunderstandingofconnotation.However,afterin-depthanalysis,wefoundthattheseexplanationsoninterpersonalfunctionsalmostcoverthefollowingfourbasicelements:thesubjectis“self”,theobjectis“others”,theintermediaryis“language”,andthepurposeisto“establishormaintaincertainrelationship”.InterpersonalFunctionandInternationalBusinessNegotiation3.1LinguisticInterpretationofthebasictheoreticalconnotationofInterpersonalFunctionScholarsathomeandabroadhaveconductedin-depthandsystematicstudiesonthedefinitionofinterpersonalfunction.Halliday,awell-knownsystematiclinguist,believesthatitisoneofthethreemainfunctionsoflanguage,aswellasconceptualandtextualfunctions,inthefinalanalysis,itreflectsthepossiblerelationshipbetweenpeople.Thompsonbelievesthatthefunctionofinterpersonalcommunicationreferstouselanguagetocommunicatewithothersandestablishandmaintainrelationships,andtouselanguagetoinfluencethebehaviorofothers,whileexpressingtheirviewsontheworldorevenchangingtheworld.Adistinctivefeatureofsystemicfunctionallinguisticsisitsapplication.Hallidaypointedoutthatthepurposeofconstructingasystemicfunctionalgrammaristoprovideatheoreticalframeworkfordiscourseanalysissuitablefororalandwrittendiscourseanalysis.(Halliday,1994:xv).Martinetal.perfectedanddevelopedHalliday'ssystemfunctionallinguisticsfromdifferentperspectives.Thecorecontentofsystemicfunctionallinguisticsiscomposedofthreemeta-functionsincludeconceptualfunction,interpersonalfunctionandtextfunction.Theconceptualfunctionismainlyembodiedinthedeliverysystem,voiceandenhancement.Theinterpersonalfunctionmainlyinvolvestheroleofthecommunicator,speechfunction,emotion,modalityandintonation,whilethetextfunctionismainlyaboutthetopic,thematicstructure,informationstructureandcohesion.Asasymbolsystem,thethreemeta-functionsoflanguagearetrinity,andthereisnoprimaryandsecondary.orpriority.Theycommunicatetherelationshipbetweenlanguageandregister(field,tenorandmode)andgenre(socialculturalcontext).3.2ThebasicmanifestationofInterpersonalFunctionHallidaybelievesthatinterpersonalfunctionismainlyembodiedbytonesystemandmodalsystem.Thetonesystemcanconsistofasubject,apredicateverbandaquestion.Modalitysystemmainlyincludesprobability,commonality,tendency,obligationandothermeaningfulwordsandphrases.（Halliday,2001:32-34）In"IntroducingFunctionalGrammar",Thompsonconcretizedthepreviousresearchresults,andpointedoutthatthemeaningofinterpersonalfunctionismainlythroughemotion,modal,evaluation,discussionandothercategoriesinclauses.（Thompson,2006:67-68）Poynton's"LanguageandGender:MakingtheDifference".Itisbelievedthatduetothedifferentsocialstatus,thedegreeofcontact,thedepthofemotionalinvestmentandotheraspects,theformalorinformallanguagecanbereflectedthroughthetonesystemandtheuseofmodalitycomponents.（PoyntonC,2005:98-101）Accordingtotheresearchresultsofdomesticandforeignscholars,wecanfurthersortoutseveralbasicformsofinterpersonalfunctionexpression.3.3FormPerformanceofInterpersonalFunction3.3.1ToneSystemHerethemoodbelongstothesemanticcategory,ratherthanthegrammaticalcategory,andrepresentsthefunctionorspeechactthatthespeakerwantstoexpress.Incommunication,theobjectofdiscussionbetweenthespeakerandthelistener.Thequalitativecomponenthasalimitingeffectontheproposition,indicatingthatthespeaker’sstatementonthefollowingthreeaspects:tense,normalization(meaningaffirmativeornegative)andmodality,speakinginthecommunicationprocessPeopleusuallyusethesethreereferencepointstodiscusspropositionswiththelistener.（Halliday,2004:45-48）Thetonesystemexpressestheinteractionintheclause,whichmakestheclauseacommunicativeact.Interpersonalmeaningisrealizedthroughhowtochoosebetweendeclarativesentence,interrogativesentence,imperativesentenceortune.Theirrelationshipis:thetoneincludesdirectstatements,questionsandimperatives.Thetoneiscomposedof"Subject"and"Finite",usuallybythenounphrase.Finiteelementsareauxiliaryverbsthatindicatetensesormodalities.Thefunctionofthefiniteelementistolimitthepropositionandmakeitausefulandcontroversialconcept.Ininternationalbusinessnegotiations,thetonesystemmakestheclauseacommunicativeact,realizingtheinteractionbetweenthesupplyanddemandsides,involvingtherolerelationshipbetweenthetwoparties.Thetwomostbasicverbalrolesinvolvedininterpersonalfunctionsaregivinganddemanding.Hallidaypointedoutthatwhatisgivencanbeinformation,orgoodsandservices,andwhatisneededcanalsobeinformationorgoodsandservices(Halliday,2004:68-69).AsshowninTable1.Table1Speechfunctions(Halliday,2004:68-69)ExchangeCommunicativeroleInformationGoodsorservicesGivingStatementProvideDemandingProblemCommandInthecommunicationprocess,thereareonlytwobasictasksinthelanguagerolechange:givinganddemanding.Throughtheanalysis,wecanfindthatininternationalbusinessnegotiations,thetermsaredeclarative.Thisisdeterminedbythecontextofbusinessnegotiations,sincethemainpurposeofnegotiationsistoclarifytheinterests,responsibilitiesandobligationsofbothsupplyanddemand.Bothsidesmustliveuptotheirobligations.Oneofthemanyfunctionsofadeclarativesentenceistoprovideinformationthatwillsupporttheconductofthenegotiation3.3.2ModalSystemModalsystemischaracterizedbymodalverbs,adverbs,adjectives,predicates,nounsandprepositions.Hallidaydividesthemodalsystemintomodalizationandmodulation.（Halliday2004:45-46）Theformeristhespeakerofthepropositionofthepossibilityanduniversalityofthejudgmentandresearchspeculation.Thelatteristhespeaker’sjudgmentastowhethertheproposedobligationsandintentionsareaccurate.Modalrealizationmethodsusuallyinclude:modalverbs,modaladverbs(suchasmay,often,always)indicatingprobabilityandfrequency.Therealizationofmeaningisusuallymodalverbsandverbpredicates(suchaspermission,supposition,requirement)thatexpressthepassivevoice.Here,weonlytakemodalityasanexample.Throughthestatisticsofinternationalbusinessnegotiations,itisfoundthatmodaladverbsarerarelyusedinnegotiatingcontracts.Therearethreemodalverbs,namelyshall,shouldandcan.Itcanbeseenthatthemodalverbshallisusedmostfrequently,andcanistheleastfrequentlyused.Herecanreferstotheabilityoftheactionsender(forexample,thesubject)toperformacertainactionshouldreflectstheeuphemismandpolitenessofthetone,shallexpresswhatwillbedoneobjectively.E.g:Incaseofdisputesarisingfromtheimplementationofthisdecision,theyshallbesettledthroughfriendlyconsultations.Ifnoconsensuscanbereached,thedisputeshallbesubmittedtotheChinaInternationalTradeCommissionforArbitrationinaccordancewithitsrules.ThedecisionoftheCommissionshallbefinalandbindinguponbothparties.Thecostsofarbitrationshallbebornebythelosingparty,exceptinothercases.3.3.3EvaluationSystemAustralianlinguistMartinbelievesthatsystemicfunctionalgrammarisnotcomprehensiveinitsstudyofinterpersonalfunction.Therefore,heproposedtheappraisaltheorytoenrichtheinterpersonalfunction.Martinpointsoutthatnotonlygrammaticalmeanscanachieveinterpersonalfunctions,butalsolexicalresourcescanexpressinterpersonalmeaning.Systemic-functionalgrammarholdsthateveryclausehasinterpersonalfunction,whileappraisaltheoryfocusesonthelinguisticresourcesthatjudgethevalueofpeople,humanbehaviorandobjectivethings.（Martin,2003,p17）Intheinterpersonalfunction,appraisalexpressesthebasicjudgmentandattitudeofthesubject“Self”totheobject“Others”.Theprocessofevaluationreflectsthesubjectiveideologyofsubjectvalue,culturalbackgroundandknowledgeaccomplishment,andisalsotheapplicationofevaluationmethodandevaluationtechnology.Evaluationandmodalityarecloselyrelated,andbothexpressthespeaker'sattitude.3.4AnalysisoftheBasicCharacteristicsofInternationalNegotiationInternationalbusinessnegotiationreferstotheprocessinwhichpartiesengagedinbusinessactivitiesindifferentcountriesorregionsmeetspecificneedsandachievethepurposeofthetransactionthroughinformationexchange,negotiationandagreement.(Wanglifei,2014:5-8)ThestudyofbusinessEnglishnegotiationincludesfourfields:negotiationenvironment,negotiationparties,negotiationprocessandnegotiationresult.(Agndal,2007:6)3.4.1TheroleofcultureinInternationalBusinessNegotiationsInternationalbusinessnegotiationsareinseparablefromculture.Mostofthepeopleinvolvedininternationalbusinessnegotiationscomefromdifferentcountriesorregions.Therefore,negotiatorsininternationalbusinessnegotiationshavedifferentculturalbackgroundsandeducationallevels,whichdeterminethedifferentculturesamongenterprises,influencethearrangementofthecompany’sinternalstructure,theplanofthemarketingbehaviorandtheviewoftheforeignbusinesspartner.Andadifferentwayoflookingatcontracts.Therefore,taketheinitiativetounderstandthedifferentculturesofdifferentcountriesintheworldbeforenegotiations,andbefamiliarwiththeculturaldifferencesinbusinessactivitiesininternationalbusinessnegotiations,understandingthecustomsofdifferentcountriesisofgreatsignificanceforthesmoothconductofinternationalbusinessnegotiations.Studytheculturalsimilaritiesanddifferencesamongbusinessnegotiatorsofdifferentcultures(Fant,2009:247-265;Firth,2004:199-226;Grindsted,2009:267-279).ThepartiesinvolvedininternationalbusinessEnglishnegotiationsaregenerallyforeign-relatedenterprisesasoneofthemarketentities.ItreferstoSino-foreignjointventures,Sino-foreigncooperativecompanies,foreigninvestmentcompaniesandSino-foreignjointventures,Sino-foreignjointventurecooperatives,aswellascompaniessuchasforeign-investedenterprises,Sino-foreignjointventures,Sino-foreigncooperativecompanies,foreign-investedcompaniesandSino-foreignjointventures,inaccordancewiththerelevantprovisionsofChina’sforeigninvestmentlawandthecompanylawofthePeople’sRepublicofChina,internationalnegotiationreferstotheexchangeofinformationbetweenbuyersandsellersindifferentcountries(regions)forthepurposeoffacilitatingtransactionsorsettlingbusinessdisputes,andnegotiateandnegotiatevariousconditionsofbusinesstransactionsordisputestoachievetheirrespectiveeconomicabehavioralprocesswithinterestsasthecore.3.4.2ThedistinctivefeaturesofinternationalBusinessEnglishNegotiations.Thecorecontentofinternationalnegotiationsistheeconomicinterest-centeredactivities,inwhichpriceisthemostimportantfactor.Generallyspeaking,anenterpriseisaneconomicgroupwiththegoalofpursuingprofit.Thepursuitofprofitmaximizationisoneofthebasicgoalsofthenormaloperationoftheenterprise.Accordingtotheexistingcommercialexamples,almostallnegotiationshavetheultimategoalofpursuingpriceconcessions,andpriceisoneofthecorecontentofthenegotiations.Becausethepricelevelreflectsthegainsandlossesoftheeconomicinterestsofbothparties.Itisoneoftheprofit-makingmeasuresfortheenterprisesofbothsides.Negotiation,especiallyinternationalnegotiation,isakindofdiplomaticactivitywithimportantsocialfunction.Thereisnothingwrongwiththepursuitofprofit,butinternationalbusinessnegotiationshavecarriedsocialfunctionsthatordinaryenterprisesdonothave,includingestablishingfriendlyrelationswithforeigncountriesandestablishingagoodinternationalimage.Theestablishmentofgoodrelationsbetweendifferentcountriesandregionscanbeachievedthroughofficialandnon-governmentalexchangesbetweenpolitics,cultureandeconomy.Internationalbusinessnegotiationsaretheeconomicexchangesofmarketentities,andTheprocessandoutcomeofthenegotiationswillreflectandinfluencethedevelopmentofregionalrelationsandtheestablishmentofthecountry’sinternationalimage.Thetransactionprocessofnegotiationisacyclicalandcontinuousprocessrestrictedbymanyfactors.Generallyspeaking,negotiationgenerallyincludesfourbasiclinks:inquiry,quotation,counter-offerandacceptance.Thenegotiatorscamefromdifferentcountriesandregions,theyhavedifferentinstitution,culturalbackgrounds,educationallevels,values,knowledgestructures,waysofthinking,waysofbehaving,languagesandcustoms,anddifferentwaysofbehaving.Thesefactorsaffectthenegotiationprocess,evenoneofthesmalldetailsmaydeterminethesuccessorfailureofthenegotiation.Asuccessfulnegotiationwillprovideagoodbasisforthenextnegotiation,makingtheselinkagesacontinuouscommercialtransactionthatcaninfluencethenexttransaction.Culturaldifferencesmustbehandledcorrectlyinnegotiations.Inthechoiceanduseofnegotiationlanguage,forWesterncountries,wemustadoptanoutwardcommunicationmethod,andtryourbesttoexpressourthoughtsinasimple,clear,andfrankway.Forexample,intheUnitedStates,theyareparticularlyargumentative,theirlanguageconfrontational,andtheirtonebluntandflat.Intheirview,controversyisnotonlyanappropriaterightofone’sowntoexpressone’sopinion,butalsocontributestothesolutionoftheproblem.InEasternculture,inordertopreservethefaceofbothparties,thefaceofthegrouporthefaceofothers,ambiguousandindirectlanguageisoftenused.Eveniftheydonotfullyagreewitheachother’sopinions,orevenholdcompletelyoppositeopinions,theyseldomdirectlyrefutethem,butinsteadstatetheiropinionsinacircuitousmanner.RegardingthenegotiationmethodsusingtheexampleofChinaandtheUnitedStates,themethodsusedinthenegotiationsrangefromlargetosmall,fromlargetosmall,andfromoveralltospecific,astheEasternmodelofthoughtisaholisticapproach.However,sinceWesternersareinfluencedbyanalyticalthinking,theyplacegreatemphasisonthelogicalrelationshipbetweenthingsandemphasizethespecificityasawhole.Theyendeavortodiscusscertaintermsatthebeginning.Fromtheanalysisoftheabovefourcharacteristics,internationalbusinessnegotiationsareultimatelyattributedtothe“languagecontest”betweenpeople.Howtodealwiththe“interpersonalrelationship”Innegotiations,tryingtoimprovenegotiationskillscanbeanimportantandevendecisivefactorindeterminingthesuccessofanegotiationoutcome.TheApplicationofInterpersonalFunctioninInternationalBusinessNegotiationInbusinessnegotiations,goodbusinessquality,proficientnegotiationskillsandexcellentlanguageabilityofnegotiatorsarethekeystosuccessfulnegotiations.Throughtheanalysisofthespecificexpressionofinterpersonalfunctionmentionedabove,generallyspeaking,intheaspectofmoodsystem,someofthetechniquesoftenusedbynegotiatorsincludeusingastatementtonetoprovideinformationtotheotherpartytoexpresstheirviewsandattitudes,andaquestiontoneiftheywanttogetinformationfromtheotherpartyInordertocreateagoodinterpersonalrelationship,theyoftenusemediumvalueandlowvaluetoexpresstheirviewsandattitudespolitely;inordertopersuadetheotherpartyThepurposeofthenegotiatoristoevaluatebyusingdifferentvocabularyandgrammarandotherevaluationmethods.4.1ApplicationofToneSysteminInternationalBusinessNegotiationTone,thatis,thetoneofspeech,isthepreparationandchangeoftoneinasentence.Forbusinessnegotiators,itisalsoveryimportanttounderstandacertainattitudeortoneexpressedbyacertaintone.Intonecommunication,peopleusuallychoosetoplaytwomainroles:giveandrequest.Inbusinessnegotiations,ontheonehand,thespeakerwillfirstprovidetherecipientwithinformationaboutthecompany’sproductsorservices;ontheotherhand,thespeakerrequirestherecipienttohaveearlyplanstopurchasetheproductsorservices.BecauseoftheformalityandseriousnessofInternationalBusinessEnglishnegotiations,thechoiceanduseoftoneisveryimportantandspecial.Itmustbepolite,butalsonothumble;itmustbebothhumorousandfirm.Tonecanhighlightthecontentthatthespeakerwantstoemphasizeininternationalbusinessnegotiationsandreflecttheinformationfocusofthediscourse.Atthesametime,therecipientcandeducetheillocutionarymeaningofthediscourseaccordingtothetoneandcontextfactors.Therefore,inthecomplexandflexibleinternationalbusinessnegotiations,negotiatorscanadjusttheirtoneandconversationandintonationinatimelymannerinordertoachieveasuccessfulnegotiation.Adheretotheprincipleofusingmore“Euphemism”,lessortrynottouse“Threateningtone”.Regardlessofthestrengthofthecompany,whenwenegotiate,wemusttakeintoaccountthe“Equalityofall”,thebasicconceptofmutualrespectmustbereflectedonthenegotiatingtable.First,trytousethefirstpersoninsteadofthesecondperson.Forexample,whenyoupointoutthattheotherparty’sofferistoohighandyoucan’tacceptit,don’tjustsay“Yourpriceistoohighandwecan’tacceptit.”Forexample,“Ifweacceptthisprice,wewillnotmakeanyprofit.”.Thesecondsentenceissignificantlymoreeuphemisticthanthefirst,whichmakestheotherpersonsoundmorecomfortableandevenre-examinetheirproposedpoint.Secondly,trytouseapositivetonetoachievethepurposeofnegationorrefusal.Infact,it’saeuphemism.Sometimes,toputitanotherway,itmayleadtounexpectedresults,suchas:“Weagreewithmostofthetermsyoupropose.”“Wedisagreewithsomeofthetermsyoupropose,andsomeofthemhavetobemodified.”Thisisaeuphemismfordenial,whichisobviouslybetterthandirectexpression.Finally,theuseofsubjunctiveconditionalsentencesinbusinessnegotiationsisveryextensive,anditsrolecannotbeignored.Euphemistictone.Fictitiousconditionalsentencesareoftenusedinrequests,consultations,objections,denials,orapprovalsinbusinessnegotiations.Timeisanimportantfactorforbothpartiesinthenegotiation.Ifbothpartieshaveagreedtomeetforthefirsttimeandbothpartieshavealreadyarrangedtheschedule,thenyoucanusetheconditionalsentencetoproposetotheotherpartythetimeandreasonforthemeetingfortheotherpartytoconsider.Theotherpartywillnaturallymakearrangementsassoonaspossibleaccordingtothespecificsituation.Avoiddisadvantages.Thesubjunctiveconditionalsentencemeanstheoppositeoftheactualsituationinthepast,presentorfuture.Therefore,inbusinessnegotiations,negotiatorscanusevirtualconditionalsentencestoexpressapprovalorrejection.Whentheotherpartyexpressesahighprofileandisdissatisfiedwithourproducts,wecanusethesubjunctivetonetomaketheotherpartythinkinanotherwayandavoiddisadvantages.E.g.:“Youmightfeelthesamewayifyouweresittinginmyposition.”Alternatebetweendifferentsentencepatternsandsounds.Usesuggestive,deliberate,andpassivevoices.Whenyoucannotaccepttheotherside’stermsinthenegotiationprocess,butdonotwanttomakethenegotiationdeadlockorevenbreakdown,howtoexpressoneself’sattitudeandpointofviewtactfullyisveryimportant.Ifyouwanttoexpressyourdisagreementwiththeotherparty,directlyusingstatementssuchas“Whatyousaidisunreasonable”mayleadtohostilityfromtheotherparty.Wecansay,“WouldyouliketoagreewithmeifIgivethesameclausestoyou?”Thissuggestivetonepromptstheotherpersontothinkabouttheissuefromtheperspectiveof“others”.Inagivencontext,interrogativesentencesaremorestrategicandpolitethandeclarativesentencesandimperativesentences.Theyareusedmorefrequentlyandachievethedesiredeffect.Inaddition,inbusinessnegotiations,oftenusethesubjunctivemoodandpassivevoice,sothatthesentencemoresmooth,morenegotiatingspace,whichismoreconducivetothefinalsuccessofthenegotiationagreement.4.2ApplicationofModalSysteminInternationalBusinessNegotiationsModalcategoriesaremainlyembodiedbymodalverbsorsmallsentencessuchas“Ithink/Ibelieve/Iamsure”.(LiJuan,2010:56-57)Itisdividedintomodalityandmentality.Modalityisthespeaker’sjudgmentofhowcertainapropositionis,andmentalityisthespeaker’sjudgmentofthedesirabilityoftheproposal.Toachievethepurposeof“negating”theotherpartybymeansof“affirmation”.Aslongaswethinkthatthiskindoftransactionisbeneficialtoourselves,weshouldnoteasilyspeakthelanguageofrejectingtheothersidemaysuspendnegotiations.Forexample,when